Visit a farm: Take part in Lehigh County tradition

Paul Muzopappa of Salisbury township hold his daughter Anastasia as she pets a horse at the Boots and Saddle Riding Club in Salisbury Township during the Lehigh County Farm Tour in 2013.

Paul Muzopappa of Salisbury township hold his daughter Anastasia as she pets a horse at the Boots and Saddle Riding Club in Salisbury Township during the Lehigh County Farm Tour in 2013. (DOUGLAS KILPATRICK, SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL)

A fall tradition that's more than 40 years old.

It has been a family tradition every fall for more than 40 years.

The Lehigh County Open Gate Farm Tour returns 1-5 p.m. Sunday, showcasing 20 farms that specialize in everything from apples to pumpkins, from alpaca products to milk to produce.

The tour is free and self-guided and gives a close-up look at life on the farm. See animals, including horses, cows and pigs. Check out farm equipment and learn how hay is baled.

Many farms will hold special events. At Byler's Farm in Slatington you can milk a cow, gather eggs, feed farm animals, slide down a haystack and take a hayride to pick your own pumpkin. At Gress Mountain Ranch in Orefield, an animal sanctuary, there will be a petting zoo and pony and donkey cart rides. Grim's Greenhouse and Farm Market in Breinigsville has a six-acre corn maze. At Krassdale Alpacas in East Greenville, you can feel the softness of the fiber and learn about the yarn-making process.

The tour includes stops at farm-related venues such as Blue Mountain Vineyards, Boots and Saddle Riding Club, Burnside Plantation, Haines Mill Museum and The Seed Farm.

Visit as many of the farms as you like. While the tour is free, some farms charge a fee for events.

The Farm Tour is presented by Penn State Extension in Lehigh County. Info: 610-391-9840 or extension.psu.edu/lehigh/events.